A COUPLE of young blokes who set up a charity walk to help raise awareness of mental health issues have teamed up with an organisation tackling high suicide rates amongst emergency services workers.

Black Dog on a Lead is in its third year of running the walk around Bibra Lake, which encourages participants to share stories and experiences about dealing with mental health issues.

It was established by Alessandro Alberti, who’s father committed suicide in 2010 after a secret battle with depression, and Massimo Iustini who was also a silent sufferer who hit rock bottom in 2015 before making the big decision to seek help.

This year they’ve teamed up with Sirens of Silence, which was set up in 2015 by paramedics Lyn and Ian Sinclair following a surge in suicides amongst ambos.

The walk will be around Bibra Lake on Sunday October 15 from 9am. It costs $20 to participate, with Alberti and Iustini hoping this year they’ll top $20,000.

For more information and to register visit: http://www.mycause.com.au/events/bdoal2017